Pocket oil can with fluid discharge adjustable within fine limits



June 12, 1951 G. cANDoLlNl ETAL 2,556,994

POCKET OIL CAN WITH FLUID DISCHARGE ADJUSTABLE WITHIN FINE LIMITS Filed Sep'b. 30, 1948 `2 Sheets-Sheet l FVrToRN EY CANDOLINI ET AL POCKET OIL CAN WITH FLUID DISCHARGE `lune 12, 1951 ADJUSTABLE WITHIN FINE LIMITS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept: 30, 1948 INVEN'roRs ff/usr Pfr (ip/noun:

Kwek Pro7-ew #Hoe-R E zm @my nTTORNeY Patented June 12, 1951 POCKET OIL CAN WITH FLUID DISCHARGE ADJUSTABLE WITHIN FINE LIMITS Giuseppe Candolini, Lausanne, Switzerland, and Karl Pfotenhauer, Milan, Italy Application september 3io, 194s, serial No. 52,052 In Switzerland March 18, 1948 p V4Claims.

With the pocket oil cans at present known there is no means of adjusting the fluid discharge within precise limits. The principal disadvantage lies in the fact that the oil left in the discharge tube cannot be prevented from escaping. It is, however, absolutely essential when lubricating delicate pieces of mechanism and timepieces to adjust within przise limits the amount of oil released. As is well known, slight excess of oil can interfere with the running of timepieces.

The present invention relates to an oil can with which it is possible either to discharge fairly considerable quantities of oil or to release very minute, accurately measured quantities.

The pocket oil can With fluid discharge adjustable within iine limits in accordance with the present invention is characterised by the fact that an elastic hollow body is disposed in a housing fashioned in the shape of a fountain pen, in which hollow body a needle passing through the housing and displaceably mounted in the latter is secured, the hollow body, which is sealed at its end opposite to the needle mounting by a plug provided with perforations for the passage of the iiuid, bearing sealingly against the inner Wall of the housing, and furthermore by the fact that the housing has an aperture in which means for exerting pressure on the elastic body and thus causing a deformation of that body are mounted.

The invention is further characterised by the :fact that valves'are provided in the plug sealing the elastic hollow body, for the purpose of closing the perforations provided in the plug, for the passage of the fluid, these valves being connected to the needle and opened by displacement of the needle into the housing. In this connection a plate valve sealing all the perforations can be expediently provided.

The object of the foregoing is to ensure that the compression chamber or space is as small as possible when pressure is exerted on the elastic hollow body by the means provided in an aperture in the housing. It is immediately evident that the smaller the compression chamber, the more accurate the control of oil flow by these means. A 3 Y Y Y In the enclosed drawings' two typical embodiments of the invention are represented, namely, in Fig. l a rst typical embodiment, and in Fig. 2 a second typical embodiment of a pocket oil can shown in section.

The housing, which may for example be fashioned in the form of a fountain pen, consists of a rear section I, sealed by a cap 2, anda front section 3, Which is screwed on to the rear section I. The front section 3 houses an elastic hollow body 4, which bears on the end 5 of the bore 6 provided in the body 3 and is sealed at its rear, open end by a plug 1 with perforations 8 for the passage of the iiuid. The needle 9, which passes through the head of the front section 3 of the housing and through the elastic body Il and is mounted in a tube I0, is rigidly connected to a part Il disposed inside the elastic body 4. Between the housing and the elastic body a part I3 is disposed, which is likewise connected to the needle 9, for instance by being screwed on. The upper portion of the elastic body l! is therefore clamped between the lparts II and I3. The part II has a bore I2 which serves as guide for a spring S which, at its other end, bears on the plug l. If the elastic body is, for example, made of a metallic foil which automatically resumes its initial position after compression, the spring S is superuous. In the front section 3 of the housing I a bore I4 is provided through which passes a stud I5, which carries a plateY I6 bearing against the elastic body 4. l

In Fig. 2 a further typical embodiment is shown. The housing, which is again shaped like a fountain pen, consists of a rear section Il sealed by a cap not shown, and a front section I8 screwed on to the rear section II. The front section I8 houses an elastic hollow body I9 which is sealed at its rear, open end by a plug 2) equipped with perforations 2l for the pase sage of the fluid. The needle 22, which passes through the head of the front section I8 of the housing and through the elastic body I9 and is mounted in a tube 23, is rigidly connected to a part 24 disposed inside the elastic body I9. Between the housing and the elastic body I9 a part 25 is provided which is likewise connected to the needle 22, for example by being screwed on. The elastic body I9 is clamped in between the parts 24 and 25. In the part 24 a body 26 is mounted, serving as guide for the spring 21. A rod 28 provided on the body 26 passes through a bore 29 in the plug 20 and carries at its rear end a plate valve 30, which engages by a tapered part 3I, made for example of some plastic material, in a correspondingly tapered bore in the plug 20 and seals the apertures 2|. In a bore 32 a stud 33 is again provided, carrying a plate 34 bearing against the elastic hollow body I9.

The mode of operation of the oil can as shown in Fig. 1 is briey as follows:

The rear section of the housing l is first lled with oil, whereupon the front section 3 is screwed on the rear section l. As the elastic body 4 bears sealingly against the side of the bore of the front section 3, the oil can only gains access to the inside of the elastic hollow body through the perforations 8. There are now two alternative ways of using the oil can; First, by the exertion of pressure on the needle 9 this latter can be displaced rearwardly, whereby the elastic body is rearwardly collapsed, at the same time compressing the spring S. A positive pressure is thereby produced in the hollow body l and oil ows out through the needle 9. Although Ythe amount of oil emerging can be Controlled within certain limits, since it is dependent on the rearward motion of the needle 9 and consequently of the piston Il, this means of control is not sensitive enough for certain purposes. For this reason the stud l5 and the plate i6 are provided. If the stud l5 is pressed, the elastic body l is subjected to slight deformation, which again causes a certain, although very small, quantity of oil flow out through the needle 9, the quantity of oil discharged being now adjustable within precise limits. As soon as the stud i5 is released, the ilow of oil ceases and the cil left in the needle 9 is sucked in by the negative pressure produced in the elastic body il. It is therefore possible with this arrangement to regulate within precise limits the quantity of oil released. The oil can described solves fully the problem referred to in the preamble, in that it facilitates the discharge both of considerable and of minute, accurately metered quantities of oil.

In the case of the oil can as in Fig. 2 the elastic body i9 is in the normal way sealed off from the rest of the reservoir cavity by means of the valve 3Q, 3 l. By the exertion of pressure on the needle, not only is the elastic body compressed but also the valve 30, 3l is opened at the same time, whereby the oil is enabled to flow out of the housing Il into the hollow body I9, If, however, precisely metered quantities are to be discharged from the oil can, which can be achieved by the operation of the button 33, the hollow body I9 is sealed olf from the rest of the reservoir cavity and therefore constitutes a relatively small compression chamber from which precisely metered quantities of oil can be discharged without difficulty.

We claim:

1. A pocket oil can with lluid discharge adjustable within fine limits, said can comprising a hollow housing in the shape of a fountain pen, an elastic hollow body in said housing adjacent an end thereof, said body being remote from the opposite end of said housing, a needle, said hollow body having an opening one end of said needle extending through said opening, means to secure said end of the needle to said hollow body adjacent the first-named end of the housing, said first-named end of the housing having an opening, said needle extending through said opening in the housing and being slidable therein, means to secure said hollow body to said housing remote from said first-named end of the housing, said housing having perforations for the passage ci fluid, an aperture in said housing, and a member movably disposed in said aperture, the inner surface of said member being adjacent said hollow body whereby upon inward displacement of said member the same will exert pressure upon the elastic body and cause a contraction thereof.

2. A pocket oil can with fluid discharge adjustable within i'ine limits, said can Comprising a hollow housing in the shape of a fountain pen, an elastic hollow body in said housing adjacent an end thereof, said body being remote from the opposite end of said housing, a needle, said hollow body having an opening, one end of said needle extending through said opening, means to secure said end of the needle to said hollow body adjacent the first-named end of the housing, said rst-named end of the housing having an opening, said needle extending through said opening in the housing and being slidable therein, a plug, said plug constituting the end of the hollow body opposite to the end on which the needle is secured, said plug having perforations therethrough for passage of the fluid, the rim of said plug bearing sealingly on the inner wall of the housing, an aperture in said housing, and a member movably disposed in said aperture, the inner surface of said member being adjacent said hollow body whereby upon inward displacement of said member the same will exert pressure on the elastic body Vand cause a contraction thereof.

3. A pocket oil can as set forth in claim 2 wherein a spring is provided for urging the hollow body to its uncontracted state.

4. A pocket oil can with iluid discharge adjustable within ne limits, said can comprising a hollow housing in the shape of a fountain pen, an elastic hollow body in said housing, a needle, said hollow body having an opening, one end of said needle extending through said opening, means to secure said end of the needle to said hollow body, one end of said housing having an opening, said needle extending through the opening in the housing and being slidable therein, a plug, said plug constituting the end of the hollow body opposite to the end on which the needle is secured, said plug having perforations therethrough for passage of the fluid, the rim of said plug bearing sealingly on the inner wall of the housing, an aperture in said housing, a member movably disposed in said aperture, the inner surface of said member being adjacent said hollow body whereby upon inward displacement of said member the same will exert pressure on the elastic body and cause a contraction thereof, a valve sealing the perforations in the plug, and means connecting said valve to said needle in such fashion that the valve will be opened upon displacement of the needle inwardly of the housing.

GIUSEPPE CANDOLINI. KARL PFOTENHAUER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,870,853 Lassague Aug. 9, 1932 2,432,061 Chesler Dec. 2, 1947 

